Glastonbury

by Brian L. Porter

  “Oh no, of course not,” Doberman replied. “They have a rather adequate library in town which I scouted out yesterday before we met, complete with computers for public use. While you're out continuing your search for whatever it is you're searching for, I shall make use of one of those computers to make contact with Marcus. I'm sure that I will be better occupied in trying to discover more information that might be of help to us through the internet and e-mail than I would by joining you in some muddy field somewhere and being able to do little more than help to carry your equipment around. As for Professor Graves, to give him his correct title, Marcus and I will attempt to dig a little deeper into his background. If he's an academic, then there will always be a contact of Marcus's somewhere that can provide us with information. As to meeting the man, I think that would better arranged to look like an accidental meeting at some point. Perhaps you could invite him to dine one evening and then introduce me as a friend of Sally's who just happens to be here on holiday or some such concocted tale. I'm not particularly adept at scheming and intrigue but I'm sure we can think of something between us.”

  “Do you know, Lucius?” said Sally, “I really do think that you could be quite devious if you put your mind to it. Perhaps you and I could put our heads together to devise a ruse that would seem plausible. I do think that the sooner you meet Graves then the sooner you'll have a chance to weigh the man up and see what we're up against.”

  “A jolly good idea, Sally,” said Doberman, “But I think your companions might wish to have a say in whatever plan we formulate.”

  “Well said, Lucius, I think we should all get our heads together over a drink in the bar this evening and put a plan together. Meantime, you never know, we might actually find something today.”

  “All I can say to that, Joe, is please don't be too optimistic or too thorough in your search. I also have a feeling that if you locate whatever Graves has been commissioned to find, you might find yourselves in a difficult predicament. After all, if the object of Capshaw's desire is in some way illegal or the result of criminal activity then I don't think that he and Graves are just going to let you, Winston and Sally walk away armed with information that could put the two of them behind bars, if you see what I mean?”

  A silence that could be cut with a knife greeted the professor's last words. Not one of the Strata team had previously thought the whole scenario through sufficiently enough to realise that Lucius Doberman was quite right. Suddenly, though it all became clear to the three of them. If they found what Graves was looking for then their own lives could be in considerable jeopardy. The thought that Capshaw and Graves might be willing to stoop to murder had never until now crossed any of their minds. Now, however, the stark realisation that such a thing could happen became a reality that was hard to ignore.

  “Bloody hell, Lucius!” Joe exclaimed. “Do you really think that they'd go that far?”

  “Why not?” asked Doberman. “After all, you have no idea what it is that they're really searching for. It could be the proceeds of a bank robbery, hidden jewels, I really don't know, but they obviously don't intend to take you into their confidence. If you were in their place and you found whatever it is they're looking for, ask yourself what you would do in such circumstances.”

  “You make a very good point,” said Winston, “even though it does scare the shit out of me”

  “Me, too,” added Sally.

  “It doesn't do a lot for my peace of mind either I must admit,” said Cutler gravely, “but I have to admit you're probably right, Lucius. I think it's just become imperative that we find out exactly what these characters are after.”

  “And in the meantime, you must not under any circumstances admit to finding anything,” said Doberman, “even if your instruments indicate a find of some sort. Simply log any finds in your memories and let Graves think that you're still searching. Marcus and I will do our best to help from this end, but in the meantime you'll have to play for time, my friends.”

  The warmth of the day seemed to have developed a cold edge as Joe and the others climbed into the van and set off for the day's rendezvous with Graves. As they drove away from the guest house Winston looked in his rear view mirror and saw the tall and imposing figure of Lucius Doberman standing on the pavement outside The Rowan Tree waving as they drew further from his sight. He was still waving as Winston made a right turn at the next junction, almost, thought Winston, as if he knew he wouldn't be seeing them again.

  As soon as the van disappeared from sight Lucius returned to his room, gathered up whatever papers he deemed necessary for his days work and set off at a determined pace for the library. Sally Corbett and his new friends required his help, of that there was no doubt in his mind, and together with Sir Marcus Farthingwood he intended to give them every bit of assistance he could.

  Five minutes after arriving at the library and establishing his credentials, (he didn't of course have a library card for this particular library), Lucius sat at one of the computers provided by the library service for its customers. As soon as he was connected to the internet he fired off an e-mail to Sir Marcus, and two others to a couple of associates who he thought could be of help, and then began to trawl through various websites searching for anything that might give him a clue as to the connection between the SS Livara and the ancient town of Glastonbury. He was certain that somewhere there was a connection between the two, and he was determined to find it. It could after all be the only way to help his new friends not only to find out what was really going on, but to stay alive! He was a simple historian, a mild mannered and usually sedentary person, but today Lucius Doberman felt as though he'd been galvanized into action in a way that he'd never been before. There was not only a historical mystery, but lives were now at stake, of that he was sure, but for the life of him he couldn't think why Sally and her two friends hadn't realised the danger earlier.

  Within ten minutes of his sending his e-mails, the first reply came through and as he read the words that appeared on the screen before him Lucius nodded and said to himself; “Mmm, interesting, very interesting.”

  He quickly typed in a response to the sender and began his own days' work which, like that of Joe, Winston and Sally would involve a great deal of patient searching.

  Chapter 27

  “Lucky thing for us your professor friend turning up like that, Sally girl,” said Winston as he drove towards Maiden's Farm, where they would continue the search in a different area to the day before.

  “To be honest, I really can't get over him just turning up out of the blue,” she replied. “I would never have thought of Lucius Doberman as the impetuous or impulsive type.”

  “Maybe he still fancies you,” Cutler volunteered.

  “Oh, I doubt that, Joe. He might have done at one time, but I made it plain that I wasn't interested, and he's enough of a gentleman to take no to mean no. I really think he genuinely believes there's something sinister behind all this and it wouldn't surprise me at all if he and Sir Marcus had a theory already, but that they daren't share it with us yet.”

  “Did you ever meet this Marcus Farthingwood character when you were at the university?”

  “No, I didn't. In fact, very few of the students got to meet him. He was regarded as a sort of demi-god by the faculty and the students, sometimes thought of as a court of last resort in cases of academic disputes. He is a genius without a doubt, and there's every chance that he and Lucius can come up with something to help us. After all, look how quickly he cottoned on to the Livara thing.”

  “Yeah, but look how quickly he scared the shit out of us as well,” said Winston, his eyes never leaving the road as he spoke.

  “You have to admit he had a point though, Winston.” Joe Cutler spoke in a hushed tone, almost as though he were afraid of being overheard. “After all, if what he said last night is true, and I've no reason to believe it isn't, then Capshaw and Graves are using us as innocent dupes to locate something they want very badly, and if we d
o find it, then we are likely to become a liability to them. I told you Graves had a bloody gun, and now we sort of know who he intends to use the damn thing on. I wish I'd never got you two involved in this whole affair. I could have said `No' when I went to meet with fucking Malcolm Capshaw.”

  “Don't be silly, Joe,” said Sally. “In the first place, you didn't know that there was anything suspicious about Capshaw or the job. Secondly, you'd have been a fool to yourself and the business to turn down what appeared to be a lucrative contract that would keep the company in the black for years. And finally, Joe Cutler, don't you forget that Winston and I are both over twenty-one and know perfectly well what we're doing. You gave us the chance to back out and we both said we were with you all the way. I don't see that anything's happened to change that, so for God's sake stop apologising and let's prove to ourselves that we can come out of this on top, alright?”

  “Amen to that, Sally girl!” Winston Fortune grinned from ear to ear. “I think that's put you in your place, boss man. You sure ain't gonna get rid of us that easily.”

  “But what about the contract, the money? If Lucius is right then we can't really expect that we're going to make anything at all out of this. The retainer I got from Capshaw is all very well, but if he expects us to pop our clogs if we find his treasure, whatever it is, then I don't think he's likely to pay the rest of the fee into the company account, do you? In effect, we're working for nothing, and we still have to earn a living after all.”

  “Oh, come on, boss, where's your sense of adventure?” Winston went on. “And anyway, I doubt that Capshaw will just allow us to walk away without finishing the job, do you? I mean, what you gonna say to the man? `Look Mr. Capshaw, sir, we think you're a crooked murdering bastard and we don't want to work for you any more?' Try that one and he'll probably have Graves put us all out of our misery there and then. Whatever happens, boss, we've got to see this thing through to the end, and hope we can outwit the bad guys.”

  “Winston's right, Joe,” Sally added. “We don't seem to have many options, other than to go along with the charade until we can work it out.”

  “Listen, when I was a kid growing up in Kingston there were lots of Capshaws and Graves's around. They exploited a whole load of youngsters, almost a whole generation, man. Drugs, prostitution, rape, robbery and murder, you name it, they were bastards then and they're still bastards today, but you know what? There were people in Jamaica then and now who stood up to those evil bastards and every so often one of them ends up in court or with a police bullet in the brain, and very slowly, the good guys are starting to take control again. What I'm trying to say, Joe, my friend, my dear boss, is that we're the good guys, and if we stand up to these crooks and think smarter and faster than them, then we can bring them down just like those gang bosses back home.”

  “But this isn't Jamaica, Winston,” said Cutler.

  “No, boss, it sure ain't. This is fucking England, man, and this is s'posed to be a peaceful and civilised country. But you know the thing `bout civilisation, boss? It only works if the people refuse to accept the lawbreakers and maintain the rule of law. If the Capshaws of this world think they can get away with whatever they want then there'll be no peace, no civilised society, and the bad guys win, you know what I mean?”

  Cutler was silent for a minute. He knew that Winston was an intelligent and learned man, but he was surprised to hear him be quite so fierce in his condemnation of the ills in modern society. Perhaps he'd have been less surprised if he knew that, as he spoke, Winston was remembering his younger brother Gladstone, accidentally caught in the crossfire during a turf war between rival gangs many years previously. The bullets that tore five year old Gladstone apart had narrowly missed the eight year old Winston, who was walking just a few yards ahead of his little brother. Winston and his family had lived with the grief of that day for the rest of their lives, and it was the sound of the gunfire, and the short and swiftly extinguished screams of his brother as he fell to the ground that haunted the powerful Jamaican as he laid his head on the pillow each night. He'd never forget the sight of his little brother lying there, his blood seeping into the ground as Winston cradled his head in his arms, unable to move or speak, until a policeman had gently pulled him from his brother and they'd loaded his shattered body into an ambulance. That was the sight that returned to haunt him in his dreams very night, even after all these years.

  Winston had never told Joe about Gladstone, he rarely spoke of what had happened to anyone, and when he did it was only to mention that he'd had a brother who died young, so Joe Cutler and Sally Corbett knew none of this as they approached the entrance to Maiden's Farm once more.

  Cutler simply responded to Winston's apparent moral indignation by replying to the big Jamaican: “Wow, Winston, powerful words my friend. You're right of course. We have to stand up and be counted sometime or let anarchy rule. I guess for the three of us it's time to stand up.”

  “Let the counting begin, boss man,” Winston said in a deep and resonating voice that instilled confidence by the sheer determination in its tone.

  “We'll beat them at their own game, Joe, we really will,” said Sally, sounding just as positive as Winston.

  “One more thing,” said Joe as they pulled into the parking area at the farm, “When I spoke to Mavis this morning before we left she had nothing to report from home, but she did say that her nephew who's the policeman in London called her to say that Malcolm Capshaw was seen leaving the Maitland's mansion yesterday in his Bentley. He thought we might be interested; it seems the police have got their eye on the Maitlands for some reason and Capshaw just sort of `popped up' in the course of their surveillance.”

  “So at least that confirms the connection between the Maitlands and Capshaw,” said Sally.

  “Yeah, man,” added Winston, “but it also raises the spectre of whether the Maitlands and Capshaw are involved in this thing together, and if they are, then the `scared shitless' factor of this affair just went up by at least ten points.”

  Before they could continue the conversation Winston brought the van to a halt, and they were met by the smiling face of Walter Graves who waited for them less than ten yards from the stationary van, leaning on his BMW, gleaming annoyingly as usual.

  Graves raised an arm in a welcome gesture, and as they readied themselves to step out of the van, Winston couldn't resist making the comment, “Come into my parlour, said the spider to the fly.”

  Not quite sure who was now fooling who, and whether Winston saw their small team as the hunters or the hunted, Joe Cutler added to his friends words: “Yes, but which of us is the bloody spider?”

  Chapter 28

  Walter Graves had spent a sleepless night before meeting up once more with Cutler and his team at Maiden's Farm. He'd put his mind to work on trying to figure out exactly when things had started to go wrong with the plan. Was it the discovery of the skeleton, or was it much earlier? True, there had always been a chance that they'd stumble upon Hogan's remains, but from the information Capshaw had supplied to Graves, he'd been certain that the body was buried at least a mile to the west of where they'd found it. That just went to prove how inaccurate Capshaw's information had been. If they hadn't found the skeleton the search would have continued with Cutler and his people happily going about their jobs in the belief that Excalibur lay beneath the ground somewhere under their feet. Now, an air of suspicion emanated from every member of the survey team and it had taken all of Graves's powers of improvisation and persuasion to stop them from running to the police as soon as the body was unearthed.

  Even then Graves was sure that the whole thing had started to go pear shaped earlier, much earlier in fact. When he'd first met Cutler and his team there was still an air of scepticism about them, as though they didn't fully believe in the Excalibur story. In other words Capshaw hadn't done his job properly. The `historical document' and the map were okay, and Graves knew that Capshaw must have paid a lot of money for such convincing f
akes, so the fault had to lie purely at the door of Malcolm Capshaw. He obviously hadn't sold the concept well enough to Joe Cutler. If Cutler had been a hundred percent convinced he would have been able to swing his team around into enthusiastically carrying out the search. As it was, Graves knew that Winston Fortune was still dubious about the project and even Sally Corbett was beginning to have her doubts, that was clear.

  Now, suspicion was growing amongst the surveyors, he could feel it more and more the longer he spent with them. He knew that he had some hard work ahead of him if he were to keep them on board without those suspicions growing so much that they became an early liability. He had no doubts about the course of action he'd have to take if that were to occur, but for now, he needed them and their expertise, as long as he could continue to keep them believing in the legend of Excalibur.

  He hoped he wouldn't have to carry out an early termination of the Strata team, his carefully laid plans for their final disappearance in the case of a successful search had been meticulously put in place and it would be a massive complication to have to bring things forward. If all went according to plan there would be nothing to link Graves with the `accident' that would lead to the disappearance of Cutler, Fortune, and Corbett, but that depended on them finding what they searched for. A premature end to the mission was of no use to him or to Capshaw. Only if they failed in their search within the time limit of Cutler's agreement with Capshaw would the survey team walk away in one piece. Then, another team would have to be hired to continue the search, which at least was a clever move on Capshaw's part. By limiting the time the searchers spent on the project there was theoretically less chance of them discovering the true nature of the search, and there was no danger to Capshaw if Cutler and his team were to come up empty handed. Simply hire another team, and if they failed, yet another, until sooner or later someone succeeded. Unfortunately, it seemed as if Capshaw had underestimated the intelligence of Joe Cutler and those who worked for him. If Walter Graves wasn't very, very careful they would work it out and cause him a monumental problem.